NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Belmont’s Sam Slaughter and Middle Tennessee’s Eriq Swan were named the baseball Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association for their efforts in contests from May 8-14.
Slaughter batted .429 (6-for-15) with one double, two home runs, four RBIs and five runs scored in four games for the Bruins. The Smyrna, Tenn., native posted two hits with a walk and two runs scored in a midweek contest against Lipscomb.
The junior doubled and drove in a run in the first of a three-game series versus Valparaiso and belted a two-run homer in the first inning of Saturday’s contest against the Beacons, part of a two-hit day. In the series finale he added a solo home run and scored twice.
For the season Slaughter is hitting .271 with 11 doubles, seven home runs, 23 RBIs and 21 runs scored in 44 games with 36 starts for Belmont.
Swan worked 5.2 hitless innings against UAB, allowing one run with five strikeouts. The Murfreesboro, Tenn., native retired the first 12 batters of the game before issuing a leadoff walk in the fifth, but he induced a doubleplay to erase the runner and faced the minimum through five innings.
The junior righthander set down the first two batters of the sixth before allowing another walk and was pulled from the game. UAB hit a two-run homer later in the inning, with a run charged to Swan. He has struggled through much of this season, posting a 1-6 mark with a 7.41 ERA in 14 appearances covering 51.0 innings, striking out 58 with 37 walks.
2023 TSWA BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
February 21 – Jack Roode, University of the South (Player); Jaden Hamm, Middle Tennessee (Pitcher)
February 28 – Jared Dickey, Tennessee (Player); Chase Burns, Tennessee (Pitcher)
March 7 – Blake Burke, Tennessee (Player); Chase Dollander, Tennessee (Pitcher)
March 14 – Cole Turney, Cumberland University (Player); Jaden Hamm, Middle Tennessee (Pitcher)
March 21 – Gabe Jennings, Middle Tennessee (Player); Hunter Owen, Vanderbilt (Pitcher)
March 28 – Parker Noland, Vanderbilt (Player); Noah Thompson, Lipscomb (Pitcher)
April 4 – Eston Snider, Middle Tennessee (Player); Devin Futrell, Vanderbilt (Pitcher)
April 12 – Austin Kelly, Lipscomb (Player); Logan Van Treeck, Lipscomb (Pitcher)
April 18 – Chris Hall, Lincoln Memorial (Player); Matt Munn, University of the South (Pitcher)
April 25 – Jeremiah Boyd, Middle Tennessee (Player); Jack Keele, Trevecca Nazarene (Pitcher)
May 2 – Christian Scott, Tennessee (Player); James Sells, Middle Tennessee (Pitcher)
May 9 – Joey Parliment, Trevecca Nazarene (Player); Logan Van Treeck, Lipscomb (Pitcher)